“Sorry isn’t enough.”
“I know.”
“You abandoned us.”
“I thought I needed a break.”
“You took a two-week vacation while your wife was recovering from surgery and caring for three newborns.”
His face fell.
“I know.”
“And you called me hormonal when I told you I couldn’t safely do it alone.”
He looked down.
“I was wrong.”
The Conversation We Needed
That evening, we sat at the kitchen table.
The babies were sleeping.
For once, neither of us was yelling.
Ethan admitted that he had been overwhelmed.
He admitted that becoming a father to triplets terrified him.
But I stopped him.
“Being scared doesn’t give you permission to abandon everyone else.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
I told him I was scared too.
The difference was that I didn’t get to run away.
“I needed you to stand beside me,” I said.
“Instead, you made me feel like I was an inconvenience.”